Laced closure for garments



J. J. KISPERT LACED CLOSURE FOR GARMENTS March 8, 1949.

2. sheets sheet 1 Filed Dec. 19, 1946 INVENTOR.

. vase uLK/SPEAI March 8, 1949. J. J. VKISPERT LACED CLOSURE FOR GARMENTS 2 Sheets-Sheet 2 Filed Dec. 19, 1946 INVENTOR. JOBEPII J. K/sPE/er Patented Mar. 8, 1949 UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE LACED CLOSURE FOR GARMENTS Joseph J. Kispert, Mount Carmel, Conn.

Application December 19, 1946, Serial No. 717,199

5 Claims. 1

'This invention relates to a closure means for body supporting garments such as girdles, corsets or brassires.

A particular object of the invention is to provide in such a garment a closure means wherein the securing elements, such as lace engaging members located at the edges of companion parts for effecting the closure, extend diagonally at an upward incline and serve to cause upward pull to be exterted when laces are tightened to draw the closures toward each other to a closed position and thus impart uplift to the abdomen or to portions of the body about which the garment fits when worn.

Another object of the invention is to provide a laced closure having lace-engaging members so formed that the laces may be easily engaged with the lace-engaging members and, when tightened, exert pull longitudinally of the laceengaging members and thus prevent side strain which might tend to loosen the lace engaging members or shift them transversely out of the predetermined upward incline or angle atwhich they are disposed when applied to the closure members.

The invention is illustrated in the accompanying drawings wherein:

Fig. 1 is a front View showing a portion ofa girdle having closures equipped with lace-engaging looped tapes of the improved construction.

Fig. 2 is a view showing one of the closures turned to a position wherein its inner surface is exposed and the lace-engaging loops show in full lines.

Fig. 3 is a fragmentary front view showing closure members provided with a modified form of lace-engaging members.

Fig. 4 is a fragmentary View of the front portion of a girdle or corset showing a modified form of lacing and supporting arrangements.

Fig. 5 is a fragmentary view showing a portion of the corset of Fig. 4 with an overlying flap folded back.

Fig. 6 is a front view of a brassire with a hook and eye arrangement of closure means.

The garment indicated in general by the numeral l, represents a girdle, corset, or like garment and is provided at its front with a vest 2 and closure flaps 3 sewed along their inner or rear edges to the body of the garment and disposed in overlying relation to the vest when closed. This merely represents one specific type of garment with which the improved lace-engaging members may be used as they may be applied to any garment having closure portions which'are to be drawn toward each other and secured by laces.

The laces 4 are secured to the closure portions or flaps 3 near lower ends of the free side edges thereof and laced back and forth between the flaps to upper ends thereof where the laces are tied in a bow knot and will then firmly, but releasably, hold the flaps fiat against the vest under compressing strain. The lace-engaging members 5 consist of tapes which extend across the inner surfaces of the flaps and are sewed to front and rear side edges of the flaps, thus forming elongated loops through which fingers may be passed while threading the laces back and forth between the flaps. The looped tapes extend diagonally across the flaps with portions projecting from the free side edges of the flaps and are disposed at an upward incline and while they extend at an angle of approximately 45 degrees in the illustration, it will be understood that this is merely an illustrative angle and that the angle may be varied as found necessary or desirable by a designer. When the laces are tightened pull will be longitudinally of the loops and an uplift will be exerted upon the abdomen to hold muscles and organs in their proper position as well as causing the flaps to be drawn toward each other to tighten the garment about a person.

Instead of using looped tapes as lace-engaging members the hooks 6 shown in Figure 3 may be used. These hooks are sewed to the closure flaps with end portions formed with bills projecting from free side edges of the flaps. The hooks project from the closure flaps at an upward incline corresponding to the incline or angle of the loops and when the laces are engaged with the hooks and tightened upward pull will be exerted as well as causing the girdle to be tightened about the person wearing the same. It will thus be seen that when the hooks are used the organs and the muscles will be uplifted and held in their proper positions as well as when the tapes or loops are used.

In Figures 4 and 5 there has been shown a modified form of corset or girdle embodying a body section In and a front section having an under vest portion comprising companion parts H and I2 connected by suitable disengageable fastening means l3, and outer flap portions l4 and I5 adapted to be drawn together by laces l6 into overlying relation to the closure portions ll and [2. The inner and outer vest portions l I and M are connected by straps ll of preferably web material, each passing through a slit l8 in the corresponding forward edge portion of the body section II]. The opposite ends of the straps I! are suitably sewn into the corresponding edges of the sections H and [4. The opposed vest sections 12 and are similarly connected by straps I1 secured with the corresponding forward edge of the body section II) and the rear edge of the flap l5 and passing through the slit l8 in a manner similar to that described in connection with the right-hand half of Fig. 4. Since the straps are slidable through the slots the vest sections and the flaps may have movements relative to the body sections of the garment. The normally rear faces of outer flaps l4 and I5 are provided with loops 19 arranged similarly to the loops 5 of Figs. 1 and 2.

As will be apparent, particularly from an inspection of Fig. 5 in which the outer flap is folded back, the straps l1 and the loops 19 are both arranged at an angle to the horizontal in a continuously rising incline, and tightening of the laces I 6 by progressive upward pulling on the laces exerts an upward lifting effect on the lower abdominal portions of the body, as described in connection with Figs. 1 and 2.

In place of the loops 5 of Figs. 1 and 2 and loops I9 of Figs. 4 and 5 or the hooks 6 of Fig. 3, a hook and eye type of closure or fastening means may be employed. Such a means is disclosed in connection with the brassiere shown in Fig. 6. In this embodiment of the invention the garment has a body encircling band 20, the front panel thereof being provided with suitable bust pockets 2|. The brassire includes appropriate shoulder straps such as shown fragmentarily at 22. The brassiere is adapted to be closed at the side by fastening means including eyes 23 secured to a strip 24 sewed to the front panel and hooks 25 secured to a strip 2-6 sewed against the under side of the companion edge of the band. A portion of this latter edge has been shown folded back at the top in Fig. 6 to more clearly illustrate the arrangement of the hooks and eyes. It will be seen that the hooks and eyes are arranged on an incline. whereby in fastening an upward pull is exerted on the front, which is transferred as an upward lift on the bust.

Having thus described the invention, what is claimed is:

1. In a garment, closure portions having free side edges, laces for drawing the closure portions toward each other, and lace engaging members carried by the closure members and disposed diagonally thereof at an upward incline towards the free side edge of the said closure portions whereby tightening of the laces to constri'ct the garment about a person will exert uplifting force.

2. In a garment, closure portions having free side edges, laces for drawing the closure portions toward each other, and lace-engaging members carried by the closure portions and extending diagonally thereof at an upward incline towards free edges of the said closure portions with end portions protruding from the free side edges of the closure portions, the lace-engaging members of one closure portion being in converging relation to the lace-engaging members of the other closure portion whereby pull exerted by laces engaged with the lace-engaging members will exert uplifting action to the garment.

3. In a garment, closure portions movable toward and away from each other and having free side edges, laces having ends secured to the closure portions adjacent lower ends thereof, and tapes extending transversely of the closure portions and extending at an upward incline towards free side edges of the said closure portions with inner ends secured to the closure portions in spaced relation to the free side edges thereof and outer end portions projecting from the free edges of the closure portions and folded freely back upon themselves and securedadiacent free edges of the closure portions and forming lace-receiving loops, the laces when passedthrough the loops and tightened serving to constrict the garment about a person and exert uplifting pull longitudinally of the loops.

4. Ina garment, closure portions movable toward and away from each other and having free side edges, laces carried by the closure portions, and tapes extending transversely across inner surfaces of the closure portions and secured only at their ends to form lace-receiving loops free between their ends, said loops having their outer end portions projecting from the free side edges of the closure portions, said loops being disposed at an upward incline toward their outer ends whereby lifting pull will be exerted longitudinally of the loops when the laces are passed back and forth through the loops and tightened.

5. In a garment, closure portions having free side edges, laces carried by the closure portions, and tapes extending transversely across inner surfaces of the closure portions at an upward incline towards free side edges of the closure portions and secured only at their inner and outer ends to form lace-receiving loops extending at,

an upward incline toward their outer ends.

JOSEPH J. KISPERT.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the file of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 273,393 Ritzmann Mar. 6, 1883 557,252 Cash Mar. 31, 1896 893,215 Wilson July 14, 1908 1,850,781 Weingarten Mar. 22, 1932 2,316,102 Preston Apr. 6, 1943 2,339,427 Roseman Jan 18, 1944 FOREIGN PATENTS Number Country Date 445,414 France Sept. 2, 1912 

